father, raised in indonesia and hawaii. i was beginning to sense how fitting into the world might not be as simple as it might seem. and so, to see this man, this center, this powerful an accomplished person, when it came to what you think the senator might look like at the time, the way that he commanded the respect of the entire nation, it hinted to me what might be possible for my own life. this was a man that stepped up to serve his country even after his fellow japanese americans were declared enemy aliens. a man that believed in america even when its government did not necessarily believe in him. that meant something to me. it gave me a powerful sense, one that i could not put into words. as i watched the hearings, listening to his piercing questions night after night, i learned how a democracy was supposed to work. a government of, by, and for the people. nobody is above the law. we have an obligation to hold each other countable. these things that we stand for, the ideals that we hold dear, they are bigger than any one person, party, or politician. nobody communicated that
